Manual controllers for manipulating images or symbols on a visual display of a computing device include, for example, joysticks, game pads, steering wheels, guns, and mice for video games; remote devices for television, DVD, VCR, stereophonic equipment, projectors, and other such electronic equipment; cellular telephones; and portable video game systems. Conventional housings for such manual controllers are typically made of hard plastic material that fails to maintain the structural integrity of the controller or the operational integrity of its electronics undergoing impact applied by accident or a user experiencing a moment of extreme frustration or unrestrained exuberance. Video game players are especially susceptible to intentionally inflicting damaging impact on a manual controller by throwing, dropping, or delivering other insult to it.